With covid-19 confirmed cases in South Africa now above 1800, everyone’s commitment to fighting pandemic is appreciated. To play our small part, we quickly mobilised to make toilet paper available to the less fortunate in the City of Matlosana located in the North West Province of South Africa.
Working with the Mayor of Matlosana, Cllr. Maetu Kgaile and a local toilet paper manufacturer, iCE3 exchange managed to get the project launched. With local and international support, our team believes a real positive impact in the community can be made during a time when the country is witnessing a rise in confirmed cases.
“I originally hail from the City of Matlosana and when the effects of the lockdown became apparent the team and I did some brainstorming to see how we can help alleviate the impact of this pandemic locally, in some small way. South Africans are resilient people and it is a privilege to be a part of this project.” – Gareth Grobler, iCE3 Founder & CEO
iCE3 will be donating toilet paper on a weekly basis in Matlosana and hope to increase the volume and frequency over the coming weeks. The first 1000 rolls were collected on the morning of March 30th by the Mayors’ representatives and distributed to pensioners queuing to collect their social grants administered by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). Watch video footage.
“We really appreciate the very much needed assistance in this time of crisis. Our people need it and it is wonderful to see such cooperation during these desperate times. I want to personally thank everyone involved, especially the kind donations from all over the world.” – Mayor of Matlosana, Cllr. Maetu Kgaile
Why crypto?
Effectively administering an international campaign of this kind would be extremely difficult using traditional payment channels or even established charitable organisations. Even payment providers such as PayPal, which often waives fees for charitable causes, does not operate equally in every country. iCE3 decided to take swift action and reach out to local authorities in order to collaborate and ensure the initiative is executed thoughtfully and with the necessary care considering the nature of the covid-19 crisis.
READ: Ukheshe and Africa Assist launch Covid-19 support service Call4Care
In addition, to people not familiar with digital currencies such as Bitcoin, a positive first impression is essential for promoting wider adoption, especially since the challenge of misinformation and lack of awareness still creates a barrier to adoption. By supporting local communities in times of crisis, real-life use cases of the power of cryptocurrencies can be realised within Africa and across the globe. We hope that this initiative not only helps people receive much-needed supplies to see them through this difficult time but also leave an impression and create awareness around the power of borderless digital ecosystems that make it possible for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin to empower ordinary people.
Appeal for help
As of Monday, 6 April 2020, a total of 0.02488723 BTC has been donated and the iCE3 team delivered rolls of toilet paper to the Elandshaven Methodist Homes situated in Klerksdorp to assist the elderly, who are among the most vulnerable during this covid-19 crisis. Thus far some of the donors aside from iCE3 include BitcoinZAR, BitcoinByte and TradeCrypto, to name a few.
You too can make a difference. Simply donate any amount of crypto to the corresponding addresses below:
(iCE3 will not be charging any fees or commissions to convert the cryptocurrency donations into Rands – South Africa’s local currency. 100% of donations will be used to buy and distribute toilet paper locally.)
To Donate Bitcoin (BTC | XBT)
Address: 3MYxHM7H2HAHMht5pU6vwyMJ3uUMFtHMn4
To Donate Ether (ETH)
Address: 0xfef867241c47a9669a86d6b3b3786411ed9037b2
To Donate Artificial Intelligence Coin (AIC)
Address: 0xe3817aa943bd9f4da7a725481bd52d734b0123bd
* AIC is iCE3 exchange’s utility token in the form of an ERC20 token on the Ethereum network.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Once you have made a contribution, please add the transaction hash here, in order to have your name and/or company name added to the list of benefactors.You can view the list of benefactors who have made donations on the dedicated covid-19 page of the website. iCE3 exchange is not a charity, but one of Africa’s pioneering cryptocurrency exchange platforms. iCE3 exchange will be monitoring the success of its covid-19 community philanthropy initiative and updates will be available on the website. The amounts raised through this initiative will be visible via public blockchain explorers using the provided public addresses. iCE3 does not collect fees or commissions from any donors.